Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer graphics and, more specifically, to a technique for mapping a texture onto a three-dimensional model.
Description of the Related Art
A conventional rendering application may be used to generate a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object. The object could be a real-world object, such as a human being or an animal, or a virtual object, such as a video game character. The 3D model of the object typically includes a mathematical representation of the volume and/or surface of the object, and may include a polygonal mesh, a point cloud, a wireframe model, a manifold, or other such mathematical representations. Conventional rendering applications are often capable of projecting a texture map onto the surface of the 3D model in order to cause the surface of the 3D model to appear more physically realistic when rendered for display.
Conventional rendering applications may project texture maps onto the surface of 3D models using a variety of different techniques. For example, one such technique allows the user of the rendering application to indicate a sequence of locations on the surface of the 3D model where a texture map should be applied. The rendering application would then apply the texture map to that sequence of locations. However, with this approach, a conventional rendering application simply projects multiple overlapping copies of the texture map across the surface of the 3D model at the different locations in the sequence. Since texture maps are typically square, the aforementioned technique usually creates an unrealistic looking pattern consisting of multiple overlapping squares that have a discontinuous-looking texture.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a more effective technique for projecting a texture map onto the surface of a 3D model.